Utensils with integrated stand

ABSTRACT

A utensil with an integrated stand includes an elongated angular handle having an endpoint for making contact with food products and the mouth of a user. A downward protrusion located on the handle adjacent to the endpoint includes a lower section for making contact with a foreign surface to prevent the endpoint from making contact with the foreign surface while not in use.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to kitchen utensils and more particularlyto cutlery having a shape for reducing contact with unsanitary surfaces.

Kitchen utensils are an essential part of daily life, and are utilizedby consumers in home and restaurant settings. In the past 50 years, thebasic design of cutlery/silverware (i.e. forks, knives and spoons andother kitchen utensils) have changed very little owing to the fact thatconsumers are comfortable with the traditional shape of cutlery. To thisend, attempts to introduce radically new designs in the marketplace havebeen met with limited success. Conventional kitchen utensils typicallyinclude an elongated handle having a manipulation instrument (such astines or a bowl, for example) secured to one end for making contact withfood and/or the mouth of a user. This traditional design allows thebottom portion of the manipulation instrument to make direct contactwith a tabletop or other surface when the utensil is not in use.

In the past, there have been many systems and methods for properlycleaning kitchen utensils to ensure they are sanitary for successiveuse. However, it is common for these sanitized utensils to be placed ona tabletop that has not been properly cleaned, thus contaminating themanipulation instrument and fostering the spread of illness and disease.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a kitchen utensil having anintegrated stand for maintaining a sanitary endpoint.

Accordingly, there is provided a kitchen utensil having a handle and anendpoint for manipulating food. The handle includes a downward facingprotrusion/stand configured to prevent the endpoint from resting on aforeign surface while not in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should beappreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precisearrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a fork in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 1 a is cutout view of an integrated stand according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a fork in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a spoon in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a spoon in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a fork in accordance with an alternateembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a plurality of utensils with integrated standsin accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the specification concludes with claims defining the features ofthe invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that theinvention will be better understood from a consideration of thedescription in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailedembodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, itis to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplaryof the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore,specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not tobe interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and asa representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriatelydetailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are notintended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandabledescription of the invention.

For purposes of this description, the terms “upper,” “bottom,” “right,”“left,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shallrelate to the invention as oriented in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of a utensil, in this instance afork 10, that includes an endpoint 11, a neck 12 and a handle 13 havinga downward facing protrusion 14 positioned thereon. In one preferredembodiment, fork 10 can be constructed from a single piece of stainlesssteel that is milled or machined with the aforementioned componentsforming identifiable sections thereof. Of course, other materials (suchas plastic, for example) and construction methodologies are alsocontemplated.

The endpoint 11 acts as an instrument for manipulating food (i.e.manipulation instrument), and therefore is designed to make directcontact with food products and the mouth of a user. In one embodiment,the endpoint 11 of the fork 10 includes a generally concave shape havinga plurality of tines l la merging to form a solid transition shelf 1 lbthat is integrally formed with the neck 12 and handle 13.

The neck 12 acts to separate the endpoint 11 from the handle 13. Ininstances where the endpoint and the handle are constructed fromseparate materials, the neck acts to secure these elements togetherthrough known manufacturing processes.

The handle 13 can include a generally rectangular member having a gentlearch for allowing the handle end 13 d to rest on a surface 15 whileorienting the tines 11 a at an approximate 45 degree angle when not inuse. To this end, the overall shape of the handle is slightly convex inrelation to the endpoint 11.

In one embodiment illustrated by FIG. 1, the bottom portion of thehandle 13 a includes a downward facing stand 14 positioned adjacent tothe neck 12 and extending toward the handle end. In one embodiment, thestand 14 can include a solid piece of material having a bottom section14 a that extends below the bottom of the endpoint 11 c, so as toprevent the endpoint from making contact with a surface 15 such as atabletop, for example. In one preferred embodiment, stand 14 cancomprise a solid block of aluminum or steel material having a generally“U” shape that is integrally formed onto the bottom section of thehandle 13 a at a time of manufacture, however other shapes and materialsare also contemplated. For example, FIG. 1 a illustrates an alternateembodiment in which the stand 14 includes a thin strip of steel or otherutensil material having an upper end 14 b connected to the bottom of thehandle 13 a and a bottom end 14 a extending below the bottom of theendpoint 11 c, as described above.

In either instance, the stand 14 can act as an integrated utensil standfor preventing the sanitized endpoint 11 from making contact with apotentially contaminated surface 15. Moreover, by positioning the stand14 adjacent to the neck 12 of the handle 13, the stand does not affectthe traditional and familiar use/handling of the utensil. Althoughdescribed above as utilizing specific shapes and materials, one of skillin the art will recognize that the stand 14 can include virtually anyshape and can be made from any material. For example, in one embodiment,the stand 14 can be constructed from the same material as the utensil,whereas in another embodiment the stand 14 can be constructed from adifferent material than the utensil.

The integrated protrusion/stand 14 can be utilized with any number ofdifferent utensils, such as the spoon 30 that is illustrated in FIGS. 3and 4. In these examples, the spoon 30 includes an endpoint 31 having aconcave bowl section 31 a for retaining food and liquids, and a neck 32and handle 33 that are substantially identical to the neck 12 and handle13 described above. As shown, the stand 14 of this example includes abottom portion 14 a for resting on a surface 15, and a first and secondend points 14 b and 14 c connected to the bottom of the handle 13 a,thus forming an open shape having an empty section H.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an alternate embodiment of a utensil with anintegrated stand 10 in which the top portion of the handle includes anopening 50 through which the bottom of the stand 14 a can be placed. Asshown, such a feature can allow utensils with integrated stands to beneatly stacked in much the same way as conventional silverware.

Although described above as for use on particular eating utensils, oneof skill in the art will recognize that the inventive concepts disclosedherein can be equally applied to eating utensils of all types such asknives and serving instruments, for example, without deviating from thescope and spirit of the inventive concepts disclosed herein.

As to a further description of the manner and use of the presentinvention, the same should be apparent from the above description.Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage andoperation will be provided.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A kitchen utensil comprising: a handle having a first end, a secondend, a middle portion, a top and a bottom, said middle porting includinga convex shape to permit grasping by a user; and a manipulationinstrument configured to make contact with food and a mouth of a user,said manipulation instrument including a concave shape having a top andbottom section extending outward from the first end of the handle,wherein said handle further includes a stand comprising a downwardprotrusion having a depth that is greater than a depth of themanipulation instrument, said stand being configured to position theendpoint in a manner preventing contact with a foreign surface while notin use.
 2. The kitchen utensil of claim 1, wherein each of the handleand the manipulation instrument are integrally formed from a singlepiece of material.
 3. The kitchen utensil of claim 1, further comprisinga neck interposed between the manipulation instrument and the handle. 4.The kitchen utensil of claim 3, wherein each of said neck andmanipulation instrument are constructed from different materials and theneck is a means for securing these elements together.
 5. The kitchenutensil of claim 1, wherein said manipulation unit includes a pluralityof tines and a transition shelf.
 6. The kitchen utensil of claim 1,wherein said manipulation unit includes a generally circularcross-sectional shape with a generally elliptical side elevationalshape, forming a bowl configured to retain a food product.
 7. Thekitchen utensil of claim 1, wherein said stand includes a first end, asecond end and a middle section, said first and second ends beingconnected to the bottom of the handle, and said middle section extendingaway from the handle in a direction opposite to the convex shape.
 8. Thekitchen utensil of claim 1, wherein said stand includes a first end anda second end, said first end being connected to the bottom of the handleat a location adjacent to the first end, and said second end extendingaway from the handle in a direction opposite to the convex shape.
 9. Thekitchen utensil of claim 1, wherein the top of the handle furtherincludes an opening configured to receive a stand, said opening beingfurther configured to allow a plurality of utensils to be stacked in avertical manner.
 10. A fork comprising: a handle having a first end, asecond end, a middle portion, a top and a bottom, said middle portingincluding a convex shape to permit grasping by a user; and a pluralityof tines and a transition shelf configured to make contact with food anda mouth of a user, each of said tines and transition shelf including aconcave shape having a top and bottom section extending outward from thefirst end of the handle, wherein said handle further includes a standcomprising a downward protrusion having a bottom section located beneaththe bottom end of the transition shelf in a vertical direction, saidstand being configured to position the endpoint in a manner preventingcontact with a foreign surface while not in use.
 11. The fork of claim10, wherein each of the handle, the tines and the transition shelf areintegrally formed from a single piece of material.
 12. The fork of claim10, wherein said stand includes a first end, a second end and a middlesection, said first and second ends being connected to the bottom of thehandle, and said middle section extending away from the handle in adirection opposite to the convex shape.
 13. The fork of claim 10,wherein said stand includes a first end and a second end, said first endbeing connected to the bottom of the handle at a location adjacent tothe first end, and said second end extending away from the handle in adirection opposite to the convex shape.
 14. The fork of claim 10,wherein the top of the handle further includes an opening configured toreceive a stand, said opening being further configured to allow aplurality of utensils to be stacked in a vertical manner.
 15. A spooncomprising: a handle having a first end, a second end, a middle portion,a top and a bottom, said middle porting including a convex shape topermit grasping by a user; and a manipulation unit including a generallycircular cross-sectional shape with a generally elliptical sideelevational shape extending outward from the first end of the handle,wherein said handle further includes a stand comprising a downwardprotrusion having a bottom section located beneath the bottom end of themanipulation unit in a vertical direction, said stand being configuredto position the endpoint in a manner preventing contact with a foreignsurface while not in use.
 16. The spoon of claim 15, wherein each of thehandle and the manipulation unit are integrally formed from a singlepiece of material.
 17. The spoon of claim 15, wherein said standincludes a first end, a second end and a middle section, said first andsecond ends being connected to the bottom of the handle, and said middlesection extending away from the handle in a direction opposite to theconvex shape.
 18. The spoon of claim 15, wherein said stand includes afirst end and a second end, said first end being connected to the bottomof the handle at a location adjacent to the first end, and said secondend extending away from the handle in a direction opposite to the convexshape.
 19. The spoon of claim 15, wherein the top of the handle furtherincludes an opening configured to receive a stand, said opening beingfurther configured to allow a plurality of utensils to be stacked in avertical manner.